Our second Race Preview for the 2024 EuroNASCAR Finals takes a look at what we can expect from the title contenders and Trophy battles in EuroNASCAR PRO.
The last pages of the 2024 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season will be written this week. After six rounds full of twists and turns, the series will end its 2024 season with the ever-exciting EuroNASCAR Finals at Circuit Zolder.
Zolder is one of EuroNASCAR’s calendar mainstays, having run uninterrupted since its inaugural event in 2015 and is now set to host the Finals for a record eighth time.
Open wheels and sportscars have a storied history at Zolder, but the work done by the late Nathalie Maillet has allowed the historic Belgian circuit to flourish and become one of the main hubs of European stock car racing.
Thousands of fans will come to Heusden-Zolder to witness their stock car heroes, of which there’s plenty to choose from a pool of 30 teams and 49 drivers that are listed on the Provisional Entry List across all three divisions.
The race for the title is at its most critical state. With double point races to go, perfection is needed if the title contenders want to earn their place in the history books as the 2024 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series champion.
History books have shown that it can be a blessing and a curse for a team to enter their home race as the championship leader, but PK Carsport is more than prepared to secure their fifth EuroNASCAR PRO drivers championship title in front of their fans.
It has been eight years since PK last clinched the EuroNASCAR championship title at home and while they have claimed two more titles since, they clinched it at a venue that isn’t Zolder.
Celebrating at home always feels more special and for the Belgian team, they have the ultimate ace card up their sleeves.
With only two races to go, it’ll be tough for Ghirelli’s closest rival to beat his tally, but drivers such as reigning champion Gianmarco Ercoli will not wave the white flag just yet.
Ercoli might have a margin of 23 points to catch, but he knew that everything can change in the Finals. This is something that the CAAL Racing driver learned through experience, as he won the 2015 EuroNASCAR 2 title through a hard-fought comeback.
Ghirelli’s two other main rivals had also learned this in the junior division. Paul Jouffreau and Liam Hezemans both won their EN2 title in this fashion and with them only 24 and 28 points behind respectively, their chances are still wide open.
Jouffreau and Liam need to be cautious, however, as they’re battling for both the overall championship and the Junior Trophy. Care must be taken to not battle each other too much, otherwise they can say goodbye to their overall title chances.
Lucas Lasserre will have a slightly tougher job to do with a gap of 42 points to overcome, but the SpeedHouse owner-driver is EuroNASCAR’s ultimate “Mr. Consistent”.
No matter what or how, Lasserre is always there to grab a top-5 finish or better and if any of the top-4 drivers do hit trouble at Zolder, expect the 46-year old driver to suddenly be at the forefront.
Martin Doubek is the leading outsider in sixth, but with a gap of 69 points to Ghirelli and his eyes focused on EuroNASCAR 2, it’ll be unlikely for the Czechman to make a splash in ENPRO.
For drivers such as Marc Goossens, Ulysse Delsaux, Thomas Krasonis and Ryan Vargas, a miracle is going to be needed if they want to overhaul the 80+ points gap that they have in the overall standings.
Challenger Trophy drivers Thomas Toffel, Max Lanza, Dario Caso and Riccardo Romagnoli are already eliminated from the overall title battle, but their Trophy battle is one of the most anticipated duels of the weekend.
All four contenders are separated by only 18 points and there’s a maximum of 176 points that can be taken. There’s zero room for mistakes and no one can predict who’s going to be first in the special classification for Grade C drivers.
Toffel is the leading candidate on what could be the Swiss’ last race as a Challenger driver following his shock overall podium at Oschersleben, but Lanza, Caso, and Romagnoli all have the consistency that can give them the top prize instead.
The Finals also featured the return of two popular veterans: Anthony Kumpen and Frédéric Gabillon. Kumpen brought out PK’s second entry, while Gabillon partnered with Team FJ in a specially developed car that had secret parts installed for the 2025 season.
Kumpen and Gabillon will spice the competition up front, but don’t expect them to have a huge impact the title race due to their status as a “non-championship” driver.
The ruling, reserved exclusively for drivers that made their first season appearance in the Playoffs, meant that they will not be taken into consideration for point scoring of the “championship” drivers.
However, they are capable of securing points and silverwares based on their actual finishing position, so there’s still incentive for Kumpen and Gabillon to go all out and chase for personal glory at Zolder.
Disclaimer: Credits for all photos are listed underneath each image.
Last Updated: 6 December 2024